1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image processing apparatus for processing ultrasonic data to construct a three-dimensional image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diagnostic ultrasound systems for ultrasonically scanning an intracavitary region using an ultrasonic probe so as to produce tomographic images of the region and its surroundings have been widely adopted these days.
Conventional ultrasonic probes can only provide linear scan-mode images and radial scan-mode images mutually independently from each other. In recent years, a proposal has been made for an ultrasonic probe which is capable of scanning a region three-dimensionally to thus assist in the grasping of tissue the size of a tumor or the like growing in a subject as disclosed, in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-219076 or 62-194310.
Using such an ultrasonic probe capable of scanning a region three-dimensionally, the size or area of a tumor or the like can be grasped and the volume thereof can be measured.
On the other hand, general personal computers are presently capable of handling complex image processing owing to the recent technological advances in performance.
However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-219076 has a drawback. That is to say, since transmittance cannot be set mutually independently for a surface rendering mode and a volume rendering mode, information of minute irregularities on the surface of an intracavitary wall and information of an organ or the like inside the wall cannot be obtained readily and concurrently.
Similarly, while Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-194310 has the advantage that an organ can be identified easily in a tomographic image, there is a drawback in that information of minute irregularities on the surface of an intracavitary wall and information of an organ or the like inside the wall cannot be readily and concurrently obtained from a three-dimensional image (stacked data).